RESUMO
Ferroptosis, an emerging form of regulated programmed cell death, has garnered significant attention in the past decade. It is characterized by the accumulation of lipid peroxides and subsequent damage to cellular membranes, which is dependent on iron. Ferroptosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including tumors and diabetes mellitus. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has unique advantages in preventing and treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and intestinal flora-regulating functions. Recent studies have determined that TCM may exert therapeutic effects on T2DM and its complications by modulating the ferroptosis-related pathways. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the role of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis and TCM treatment of T2DM is of great significance for developing therapeutic drugs for T2DM and enriching the spectrum of effective T2DM treatment with TCM. In this review, we review the concept, mechanism, and regulatory pathways of ferroptosis and the ferroptosis mechanism of action involved in the development of T2DM. Also, we develop a search strategy, establish strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, and summarize and analyze the application of the ferroptosis mechanism in TCM studies related to T2DM and its complications. Finally, we discuss the shortcomings of current studies and propose a future research focus.
RESUMO
Esophageal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, and its incidence is the eighth highest; meanwhile, its fatality rate is the sixth highest. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway plays a required role in human cancer, including cell survival, metabolism and migration. As a kind of important scaffold protein in mTORC2, RICTOR has showed over-expression in several malignancies like melanoma and endometrial cancer. In this research, we selected 201 cases of paraffin specimens from patients diagnosed as esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after surgical treatment and then estimated the RICTOR expression in each esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissue by using the immunohistochemical streptavidin-peroxidase technique. Then, we analyzed the association among the clinicopathological parameters, the prognosis and the expression of RICTOR. Eventually, we found that the percentage of RICTOR-positive expression in 201 ESCC samples is 70.6% (142/201) and the figure for RICTOR-negative or RICTOR-doubtful-positive expression is 29.4% (59/201). RICTOR expression positively correlated with ESCC patients' AJCC stage (P = 0.011) and showed an opposite trend with survival (P = 0.007). Based on univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, RICTOR-positive expression, AJCC staging III or IV and nodal metastasis are prognostic factors and the former two are independent risk factors for ESCC. In conclusion, our study showed potential that targeting RICTOR may represent new effective inhibitors for treating ESCC.
